New Brushwork Freedom

Before my memory kicked in my family moved to Atlanta. We have lived in the same house and in the same rooms since I have even been able to form memories. Yet, many of my memories differ in the sense that although my location has stayed the same for all of these years, my surroundings have existed dynamically. I am specifically referring to the walls of my home which have seen many different coats of paint over the last twenty years.
Although not professional painters, my entire family has put much work into creating our home’s colored walls, especially my mom. I want to focus on describing my room and those of my younger brother and older sister as they depict her work the best. She did most of the design and dirty work for our rooms which all resemble a different setting that we chose when we were only kids. My room resembles that of a boy’s dream to be an astronaut. A combination of deep blue and light blue fills the room as a rocket blasts off from one wall and the sun shines from the other. Shadowing these images on the ceiling lie many stars and a few planets which were painstakingly placed one by one from ladder-top and have somehow survived for this long. My brother’s room resembles a jungle in which a boy dreamed himself to be Tarzan. His main wall depicts an enormous tree vivid with life as all animals of the jungle from a giraffe to a rhinoceros surround its stretching trunk which climbs off the wall and onto the ceiling above. It creates a canopy of dense green that emulates that of the deep forest where the sky cannot be seen for the trees above. Downstairs my sister’s room is that of a young girl asphyxiated with a garden and nature. Brightly colored hummingbirds exist all along the white picket fence that extends its way around her room. Flowers and ivy laden, it creates a barrier giving the feeling of a garden along with white fluffy clouds above to complete the ensemble.

Our rooms are those that most children only dream of. Yes every child may have a room of their own, but we were able to choose the theme of ours and it is all thanks to the artistic creativity of my mom. Even reminiscing about her painting the walls I was astonished at the love and attention to detail that was poured into every brushstroke. For this I believe I will continue this practice. I will paint every room of my home in the future to the likings of its dwellers with no exception. Not only will this provide me with ultimate freedom, but also with ultimate satisfaction as my home becomes a unique one built upon love, happiness, and freedom of expression.
Originally published Apr 2nd, 2010

Kush revamped

I was never allowed growing up to have a pet. Sure I had fish and my brother had a gerbil, but I mean a real pet, not just a novelty one. I wanted the relationship involved with having a domesticated animal and I always gave attention to the cats and dogs of my friends due to the lack of my own. Needless to say, when my brother brought home Kush I was overjoyed at the future prospect of watching him grow and enjoying his company.

Our black Bombay looks just like many thousands of other cats, yet his personality is what makes him irreplaceable. Although some find him rambunctious, I know he is just overwhelmingly playful. With his sharp claws he stalks the house waiting for opportunities to wield his natural weapons in effort to satiate his instincts. Often I imagine his perspective and feel as though he thinks himself a lion in the jungle and we are his pseudo-prey. Prowling the screened porch’s columned railings he seeks only to escape (as all house cats do) and although at times successful, it is plain to see that he has no idea what looms outside of his boundaries as he will quickly return or hide only feet from the house. This is mainly our fault because we spoil him. Having been our only true pet, every member of the family has their own affectionate way of showing him love. I personally pet him while he eats and yes I am aware that this is a very strange habit for a cat to have, but it’s the only time he will allow me to. My brother will pick him up and cradle him as if he was a child; and being the one who saved him from the streets it seems fitting. I still remember when he brought Kush home he was so little that he could fit outstretched in the palm of my hand (not to sound cliché). My mom and dad often will sit in front of the television at night before bed and he will crawl up into one of their laps and lay there to stay warm. They spoil him by rubbing him while he lays there and sleepily dozes off for awhile. My sister’s way of indulging him, are his cat treats that he loves so much. He is a glutton and will always do anything for a treat no matter what mood he is in, but soon after may return to his boisterous ways. His endless ability to liven up our home is something I hope to hold on to for a long time as he brings vivacity to our family in ways I never thought possible. I wish to continue enjoying his presence and companionship throughout the rest of his lifetime as we all grow older every day.
Originally published Mar 19th, 2010

Lakeside Revisited

Unlike most days where I visit my neighborhood lake and see vibrant colors gleaming off of its surface and ripples indicative of fish, today the lake is different. A thick, opaque sheet of blue ice covers the whole of it and the movements I am so accustomed to have ceased. The water is motionless and resembles frosted glass. I see no fish stirring, hear no sound of insects buzzing, but I do feel the icy wind blowing steadily across the lake surface. However, I have just arrived and have yet to realize that “It’s all a matter of keeping my eyes open.” In my mind I know that the fish have not left the lake and that the water beneath is still in motion yet because of the thick sheet of ice I feel I have been left blinded. “If I can’t see these minutiae, I still try to keep my eyes open” because I don’t know just what clues to look for in this weather to spot the evidence that life remains. I often think that just like this sheet of ice that blocks us from seeing below “we miss a great deal because we perceive only things on our own scale.” For example, how does the view of the fish differ from ours? On their scale the ice blocks sunlight, their source of warmth, and is most likely vexing, yet to us the ice is fun and deceivingly beautiful allowing us to forget how treacherous it can be if we were to fall in and join our fishy friends. “Still, a great deal of light falls on everything” and I would have to guess that they find ways to keep warm under the ice. I actually venture briefly onto the ice (near the shore of course) to see how thick it is and astoundingly, especially for Georgia, the ice is over two inches thick! It is astounding to think that water has so many forms. “I reel in confusion; I don’t understand what I see.” How does this moving water freeze? When I recall past years I have seen frozen waterfalls but I never understood how water plummeting through the air could freeze in place. It of course must freeze gradually with some parts freezing before others and blocking the moving water ever so steadily until at last every droplet freezes. “I had been a bell my whole life and, and never knew it until that moment I was lifted and struck.” Realizations are strange things. How can they exist? For a person to experience a realization the sums of the whole must have always been there, and therefore, that person actually learned nothing and yet feels as if a great hidden truth has been revealed. “…sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain: ‘This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means that only the simplest animals perceive the universe as it is.’” I agree with Annie Dillard and too feel that a way to remove our brain’s filters must be removed. As a realist this is one ultimate goal I always keep in mind, see the world as it truly is, not as you want it to be.
Originally published Jan 18th, 2010

Hypertext Flags

What is this thing anyway?

Americans all view the same flag yet digest and interpret it in a different way. I view the flag as a malleable symbol through which every individual protected under it is allowed to interpret it in their own manner. If the flag meant only peace or only justice, the individuals that make up this country would not be so diverse and unique; America would never have stood for the opportunistic land that it has come to be known as. However the flag, like many symbols, would mean nothing to anyone if it did not stand for this country, its people, and its opportunities.

            September 11^th was a day that no American alive will ever forget. None shall fail to remember the day when the most powerful country in the world was penetrated by a small group of organized men whom shattered our overbearing confidence. Despite their desires however, we rose to their animosity and chose to become stronger by setting aside trifling differences which we had with one another and strongly rising up together as a phoenix from the ashes of the world trade centers. We all stood together as every citizen of this country took hold of a flag and waved it with fiery eyes of patriotism. As Donald and Christine McQuade put it, the flag became “ubiquitous “ (579) as it could be seen flying from rooftops, hanging out windows, standing upon newly erected flagpoles, worn on clothes, draped upon animals, stuck out from vehicles, and branded onto stamps as the wave of patriotism spread across our wounded nation. America’s sense of pride and more importantly what our flag means had been attacked with every intention of bringing us down, yet instead they were forever strengthened.

            So what is this flag really? I believe it to be the embodiment of over two hundred years of never surrendering to those who wish to stifle freedom; never giving an inch of room to those intolerant and allowing individuals’ rights to reign supreme everywhere within the borders of our great country. The flag is “pregnant with expressive content…” (Brennan 588) as Justice William J. Brennan Jr. puts it and does not have the capacity to stand for only one belief or to protect only one group. It fully covers the views of all who make up the country it belongs to and that is precisely what the flag means to me. I love this country because I can say and do as I please as long as I follow the simple rule of not infringing on the rights of others. Having lived in this country my entire lifetime I cannot even imagine the lives of those who are oppressed or the pain they must suffer on a daily basis because they are forced into beliefs that are not theirs. To be forced into another’s code against one’s desire is truly a punishment and a torture that I could not endure. That is why I am proud to live in this country that I live in. I am proud to be able to say that my flag stands for something greater than nation or property or opportunity for wealth. My flag stands for freedom of expression and belief; undervalued privileges with more worth than can be put into words. As Anne Fadiman quotes in her writing “the flag is constant in expressing beliefs Americans share, beliefs in law and peace and that freedom which sustains the human spirit” (qtd. In Fadiman 584) and I feel the same and hope that the flag will remain an evolving part of our country so that those who come after me will be able to view it in the same light as I do today. I can only wish that the flag stays intact as it is so that future generations will be able to live under its protective cloak as I do and be guaranteed the same rights that many in our world only dream of having.

WC: 662

Works Cited

Brennan, Justice William Jr. “Majority Opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in Texas v Johnson (1989).” Seeing and Writing 3. Ed. Christine McQuade and Donald McQuade. Boston, New York: Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2006. 599-589.

Fadiman, Anne. “A Piece of Cotton.” Seeing and Writing 3. Ed. Christine McQuade and Donald McQuade Boston, New York: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2006. 580-585.

McQuade, Christine and Donald cQuade. Seeing and Writing 3. Boston, New York: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2006.

Final Draft of Photo Essay

Photo essay draft 2

View more presentations from Zach Thomas.

New Summer

I really don’t get what is going on with the weather. Normally there is some sort of transition period between winter and summer (spring) but this year it feels like spring got skipped. As such I am either expecting desert hot temperatures during the summer or for occurrences of snow as status quo has been for this year. On the topic of summer heat, I really don’t enjoy it as much as I do the colder months. I like to feel cool at night when I am going to sleep and I look forward to wearing big jackets to protect me against the cold. I always say when this subject comes up in conversation that “you can always get warm but you can’t always cool off” and that’s why I really enjoy the cold. However summer is not all bad and I do look forward to it for many reasons, going to the pool and wearing shorts and short sleeved t-shirts are enjoyable parts of this time of year. I don’t have allergies so unlike most I enjoy the blooming of all the various foliage around town and also I always look forward to the break between semesters where me and all of my friends who have gone off to various colleges can return home and spend some quality time together. I do miss them. Yet this summer I may not get to enjoy that luxury. Instead I may be in Iowa for an internship opportunity. It is only eight weeks long leaving me with one or two extra weeks of summer (and it is paid) but as I previously stated I need to see my friends. Whenever I think of this time of year it reminds me of every single summer since my childhood and also all the good times that I enjoyed with the people I grew up with. I hope to never lose these individuals and I strive to keep in touch. Maybe I can just Facebook them if I get the internship as I’m sure they want to keep in touch. This is just going to be a new experience for me if I am chosen and although I feel it will be a rewarding one I am at the same time as unsure as I am before any other new experience. Hopefully it will all go well and this will be another summer that I can fondly look back on and nostalgically remember.

Driving the Future

I love technology (most of the time) and this love has sparked me to watch shows on the science channel and there is one in particular I will always watch and it’s called “How it’s made.” I find this show intriguing because it showcases factories and how everyday items that people use (or eat) are made extremely quickly and efficiently in these establishments. For example, one show that I watched showed a pharmaceutical companies pill making machine which produced an astonishing five thousand pills per minute! Another episode that I recently watched traveled through the factory as walnuts went from shelled to processed and sorted into many different sizes and for many different products. Some that were large and whole were packaged to be sold as walnuts, and the smaller bits of walnuts were shipped off to various bakeries to be used as baking ingredients or toppings. This show is so amazing to me (as a future scientist) because it is my idea of technology at its best. When I watch and see assembly lines of robots that can put together the body of a car (not completely) in only eight minutes I am amazed. Not only have we come far but we have used our minds to create so many versatile inventions and combined those inventions to further ourselves and science. To be able to create or discover something new and helpful is just one of the many driving factors leading me down the path of science. I want to be a part of this technologically driven society and to further it (I have no idea how I am going to do this but that is why I am learning as much as I can every day). After all, technology has done great things for us. Without radios, televisions, or the internet our rate of information transfer would be much lower and we would probably still be back in the early nineteen hundreds (technologically). Also, mass production of foods, goods, and technologies has served to enhance the lives of millions if not billions all over the world and I feel will eventually lead to the prospering of every nation or at least ending the suffering of the less fortunate. Technology is our friend (most days) and I thoroughly embrace it every single day and even at this moment as I type this blog and I can’t wait to see what comes in the future.

Brushwork Freedom

I have lived in the same house since I was only one year of age. This house has stood for almost twenty years now and has undergone some major transformations since it was first built. The majority of the structure itself has not seen change, yet the walls inside my home have dynamically existed throughout this house’s life. What I mean is, every single wall has been painted and repainted as time has gone on and my family has done all the painting. No we are not professional painters and yes we could have hired painters to do the job for us, but I feel a certain sense of satisfaction whenever I gaze upon the hard work of my family. In particular, my room, my brother’s room, and my sister’s room stand out in my mind as they have had the most detail put into them. My mom did most of the work in these areas as she is the skilled artist of the family and she painted all of our rooms to our liking. Mine is painted a combination of deep blue and light blue (emphasis on the darker) with a sponge technique and then me and my mom placed stars and planet stickers all over the ceiling so that it resembled space. Then on one of the walls my mom painted a rocket ship blasting off into space, and on the adjacent a large bright yellow sun with a mirror for a center seemingly lighting up the room. At night the stickers would glow and shed a blanket of subtle light over me as I drifted off to sleep. My brother’s room is painted of a jungle with green on most of the walls, yet one wall has a very large oak tree which trunk extends to the ceiling leading to the branches and leaves which extend over the ceiling as if shielding him in a jungle. Amongst this tree on the wall my mother painted various animals such as an elephant and a large giraffe. She even got some rope and tied it in the corner of the ceiling to hand a monkey stuffed animal from! It all looked so good when she got finished with it and it still looks the same even today. My sisters room, my mom painted with a much more feminine touch. It is garden themed with flowers and various birds painted vibrantly and in detail across all four walls (I sometimes think that this was her dream room growing up and that’s why she put so much effort into it for my sister). Then on the ceiling surrounding the fan are puffy white clouds amidst a light sky blue background which lightens up the room and completes the outdoor and scenic feel. Although as I said all the other rooms have been painted also, they are mainly just solid colored walls that were very easy to paint once taped off. I actually just repainted my dad’s office last week a light green to match the new hardwood floor he had put in (not green hardwood but an accenting color) and it looks wonderful if I do say so myself. I really believe that in the future I will continue this practice in my home as it both saves money, is very rewarding, and provides ultimate freedom of creativity so that I may forge my home the way that I (and my family hopefully) see fit.

The Capacity of the Mind

The complexity of the human mind astounds me! The very idea that memories of smells, sounds, sights, and even information can be stored in a living electrical fashion is a mind blowing concept. Not only in the storage astonishing, but the speed at which our brains function is (no pun intended) mind blowing. An uncoated neuron in a human brain can carry signals at speeds of up to seventy five feet per second and a coated neuron running the lengths of the body can carry signals at up to four hundred and fifty feet per second! How amazing is that? It is this speed that allows individuals to react to stimuli in hundredths or even thousandths of a second and also what enables people to be so aware. I sometimes cannot even believe what I am learning in biology because it seems almost impossible in my mind (which coincidentally is what we are talking about). On top of the speed there are over a billion neuron cells densely packed within every human brain!
Straying from the cells of the brain, the specific parts are even more amazing. The hypothalamus and the pituitary glands, although tiny in proportion to the brain, control almost all hormone regulation and sexual urges that take place inside the body. This is why biology interests me. How can something so tiny control something so large? How can the brain control every organ, cause them to function in a perfect symphony, and do so in autonomous function? What I mean to say is I never wake up and tell my stomach to start digesting; my brain does it automatically! To add to this, the longevity of our bodies is a completely new beast to tackle. Functioning flawlessly (most of the time) our body has the capacity to regenerate and continue on for more than seventy years in most cases. The complexity found in us (which is so very prevalent not only in just people but in nature) never ceases to stun me and it continues to drive my ambitions to discover more about biology every single day.

Improper Labeling

-Nutrition labels always have a small disclaimer reading “Percentages based on a 2,000 calorie diet” in reference to the percentages of the daily value their product has in various categories. With this in mind think about which categories have percentages next to them (because it isn’t all). You are probably thinking of saturated fat, sodium, or one of the other common types listed, yet the one I want you to imagine the row for sugar. This row never has one of those percentage values based on a 2,000 calorie diet and do you know why? Because sugar is unnecessary in a daily diet! Companies know if they put the percentage on there and it read 300% next to sugar that no one who could read would buy their product. This irks me so very much because of just how much sugar is put into products today and how people do not even realize that they are gaining weight because they are eating ten times more sugar a day than they need to be.
-On average, it is alright to consume forty grams of sugar per day maximum in a 2,000 calorie diet. One twenty ounce bottle of Mountain Dew contains seventy-seven grams of sugar. So if you were to drink a Mountain Dew in the morning when you woke up, you would have already doubled the maximum healthy amount of sugar that you need for that day. I don’t believe that this type of beverage (although I used to enjoy them) should even be allowed to be sold. I feel it is safe to say that this deceptive labeling and these sugar-laden products are major contributors to the exponential increase in obesity and diabetes in this country. Obviously I’m not trying to say this is the cause yet most people who fit into the category of overweight do not realize how much sugar they are eating (or drinking).
-I will admit that I used to drink soda and eat junk food all the time but that was only until I realized what I was doing to my body and how unhealthy it was for me to be consuming all that sugar. Although it may sound like I hate sugar, please do not misinterpret. I have a larger sweet tooth than most yet I see this improper labeling and can’t help but think that someone up high in the ranks somewhere along the way decided that money comes before the customer’s health and no one (at least to my current knowledge) is trying to change that.

Kush

Everyone has their own favorite domesticated animal, personally I prefer cats and I have a black Bombay who is about one year old. He is a rambunctious and energetic cat who likes to play rough and will not hesitate to use his thin sharp claws on you. Although many people would think that he is a mean cat, I know him better than that and I know that he really is sweet, just moody at times. For example, when he doesn’t have food in his bowl and he’s hungry he will not let you pet him until you fill up his bowl, and if you try he will claw and bite you. Strangely, and I only heard of one other cat like this, he enjoys being pet while eating. Normally a cat or even a dog will hiss or growl at you if you touch them while they are enjoying a meal, but he loves it and will sometimes even come get me from my room just so that I can pet him while he eats. He’s an extremely spoiled cat and always needs attention. This is mainly due to our family never having had a pet in the past. Although growing up me, my brother, and my sister always wanted a cat or a dog, all we ever got were the novelty pets like fish or a gerbil, so now that we have a true pet, we all enjoy spoiling him. His name is Kush and my brother Nick rescued him from the streets. I will always remember when he first brought him home he could fit in my outstretched hand. He was so tiny and so adorable that my mom just couldn’t say no any longer (as she loves cats and had one before she had children) and he quickly became a part of our family. However, his neediness goes two directions. We have all grown very fond of him and love him just as much as we love each other. I myself always enjoy playing with him when I am bored or when he is in one of his energetic moods. I use a string and slide it under doors in our hardwood kitchen and then hide behind them only peeking out to watch on the other side. My cat will focus on the string as I twitch it by twisting it with my hands and then jump out after it and I try and pull it back without him catching it. He really likes this game and I can almost always get him to play which I believe is in part due to the nature of male cats (as he is) and how they are such instinctual hunters and they have a strong desire to keep their reflexes sharp. He brings joy and happiness to our family in a way I never thought possible and so I hope that he lives for a very long time so that we can continue to enjoy his company and companionship.

Moving on

-The word goodbye passes my lips over ten times per day and I never enjoy saying it. I have never liked goodbyes and I wish I would never have to say them. To never part with my fellow friends or family until their dying breath would mean that I would have spent every possible moment I could with them and that I had never missed anything. However, I know this wish to be a foolish one because if I spent every waking moment with someone I would then only wish for a moment alone. Still, goodbyes evoke a small emotion of pain inside me and cause me to wonder, will I ever see this person again? This may sound sad but in fact it reminds me to not hold back and to say and do everything I wish to because it may be the last time I see them. Somewhat like the old adage, Carpe Diem, I seize the moment and make sure that I feel clear of conscience otherwise I may end up remembering them with some lingering regret.
-I have to say though, not all goodbyes are bad. For example, saying goodbye to an old car or home when upgrading to a new one most often times feels great. Upon completing a class and saying goodbye to it I feel accomplished, ecstatic, and relieved. In essence, the feelings that come with the goodbye seem to be circumstantial. I cannot think of a blanket statement for any goodbye scenario yet I can think of situations where moving on would evoke both positive and negative feelings. When transitioning from high school to college is a good example where most people would feel overjoyed to be done with one pillar of life and to be moving on to the next but sad because they most likely would be parting with friends they had spent much time with. The complications could be endless and therefore no blanket statement can be made. Thus, looking back to my original wish, it is silly to think about never having to let go. Every last person on this planet must eventually let go of everything and everyone, including themselves, still, can I not dream?

Doughnuts revisited

Delectable Doughnut Delights
These Krispy Kreme doughnuts are phenomenal! Regardless of what other people say about them I feel they are unequalled in flavor and quality. I always revel in the mid-morning rush to school along the roads leading to the epicenter of my breakfast needs. The thrill of knowing that I have so many choices brings me to the point of pure ecstasy and upon viewing the Krispy Kreme neon sign stating “Hot” and “Now” I feel within a surge of pure joy that I will once again be able to taste the many varieties of this confectionary masterpiece. Although simple in nature the versatility of this device is unparalleled. Some days I prefer the jelly or cream filled doughnuts and others I prefer the doughnut holes themselves. Such delectable morsels these “holes” it makes me wish they gave you the hole from every doughnut. Not only are the sizes and shapes dynamic but even by changing the simple coverings of these pastries Krispy Kreme has created numerous delectable variations that anyone could love! This brings me to my main point that all of the doughnuts produced by Krispy Kreme seem to me to be elevated to a higher standard than those other doughnuts found elsewhere. For example when I do not have time to visit the Krispy Kreme or I perhaps am in a different area than normal, the gas station doughnuts do not even cross my mind. This is because they have never even come close to satiating my desire for doughnuts and to even indulge in a mere imitation would be a smack in the face to the food I have come to love. This at the same time would be an insult to my craving and leave me wanting even more. Even the doughnuts from other bakeries cannot fully indulge my hunger. Just as cigarette smoker’s dream of the morning cigarette, I dream of the morning doughnut. If Krispy Kreme were to go out of business (which I should hope they do not) I would feel withdrawals and most likely never enjoy mornings to their full extent ever again. Like a regular coffee drinker I imagine myself being irritable, on edge, and unhappy for the course of the day without doughnuts and almost cannot even stand the thought of not getting my fix. This being said with a loyal customer like me, and many others I am sure, I do not see the future of this bakery being a dismal one and hope that they stay in business producing these consumable works of art until long after I am dead.
-This was an in class assignment that we wrote about in about forty minutes and was on the subject of doughnuts. I chose to write a rave about Krispy Kreme doughnuts from the perspective of a very satisfied customer who felt very strongly about their doughnuts being the best. The posted essay however has been improved in a few ways. Originally the intro read, “Regardless of what other people say about the sugar content or health risks I find them to be unparalleled in flavor and quality” and I felt that that was not what I wanted to say. In the same sentence I also substituted the word unequalled for the word unparalleled because when I was rereading my essay I found that I used unequalled only a few sentences later so I changed the word to add diction variety. Finally, to further emphasize my point on how only doughnuts from Krispy Kreme would satisfy me, I added the line, “Even the doughnuts from other bakeries cannot fully indulge my hunger” to simply place more emphasis on how serious I am about my opinion. All in all, this was an easy assignment that I think I did well on to begin with, but the revision process can only make my work better and refine the quality of my work.

Small moments

http://www.time.com/time/today-in-pictures/0,31511,1960529,00.html

I came upon this event today and did not realize what I had seen. Along the usually empty road I saw almost a hundred women cycling in a large pack. As they were passing the oil rig, many took notice and seemed to pedal on with renewed vigor. Perhaps they were involved in some race, their colors certainly denoted they were sponsored and their determination suggested competition. Looking quite small, as we all do, against the tall sand dunes these women seemed to fly by and within two minutes they were gone. I, however, did not forget this scene, I took a mental picture as they passed me and thought long and hard about how symbolic this mental image of mine could be. In the foreground there were the female cyclists and in the background there were large tan sand dunes and one lone oil rig lit aflame at the top. I remembered seeing some of the cyclists push on harder even though they were obviously tired and I thought that perhaps this flaming landmark was also a marker in the race and that the end was perhaps near where I was currently. The beacon of light may also have given the riders some confidence. I say this because motion is relative to your location and if your eyes can not see that you are moving you will not feel that you are moving, like when you are in an elevator you know that you are moving up but you do not see the movement. This would not apply fully to them, but because of the barren landscape of this desert there would be relatively few if any landmarks to notice your motion from. Although they know they are moving quickly the length of the desert most likely seems tenfold due to the empty nature of it. How happy would I have been if I had biked some designated mileage through this landscape and finally gazed upon the tower aflame? Perhaps it felt to them as a needed checkpoint on their long race. I wondered if any of the ladies had remembered that point of the race as I had or thought back on it deeply. I also wondered who won but I had plenty of time to figure out that later, and right then all I wanted was to remember that moment and how without either me or the women expecting it, a simple oil rig had perhaps impacted part of our lives. I do enjoy these little moments where life takes us by surprise and feel that those are moments I live for. I always try to take a different path than I did the day before and look for the small things, because I feel like it is these small moments and small victories that lead us to a satisfied and happy self throughout our lives.

The Forgotten and Discarded

Books come in all shapes and sizes. Ranging from pocket sized novellas to novels that are thousands of pages long; books have always played an important role in society. When writing began they were first used as the keepers of history and the cultures of people. Eventually evolving into many forms other than information storage, books have varied greatly in design, physical structure, and purpose. For example, after the long oral tradition of myth and legend telling came books that recorded these down to the exact word and no longer did any have to slip away in time. Even today we have classic children’s stories (based usually on darker predecessors) that children can use to learn how to read or parents can use to help their children fall asleep. My first book I ever read was a Dr. Seuss book called “One fish, Two fish” in which colorful fish adorn the pages alongside the rhyming diction commonly found in his books. However, with the invention of computers, the internet, and movies, most people have seemed to forget how important and most of all entertaining a book can be. They contain stories that stimulate the mind and imagination far beyond that of a screen, yet they are consistently overshadowed. I am even guilty of reading less and less as I have gotten older. I replaced my consistent reading with video games (I think this is because I have had to read more and more for school but who knows) and now I read less frequently for pleasure than ever before. I feel that instead of wanting to use their imagination people now are always looking for that instant gratification and entertainment that requires the least amount of effort. Watching television, for example, is probably one of the laziest things a person can do, yet almost everyone does it daily. I’m definitely not saying there is nothing good about television but when compared to the great things books and literature have done for us, there’s hardly a comparison between the two. One has given us the ability to gain, record, further, and pass along knowledge while the other is filled with one “reality” show after the next (which I loathe). I know I probably sound like a nerdy bookworm, but I feel desperate to revert to the days when I would stay up late at night not playing video games or watching television, but when I would catch myself awake hours past the time I wanted to fall asleep because I just had to finish the chapter in the book I was reading. Books are not only important, but amazing. Let’s just not all forget them within our busy lives.

The Little Store

Today I read “The Little Store” by Eudora Welty and was at first pleasantly surprised by the intricate and detailed recount of the small convenience store that played such a major role in her youth. She is enamored not only by the store itself but everyone and everything associated with it and the journey from home to it. The text reads, “I knew even the sidewalk to it as well as I knew my own skin,” (S+W 3 155) clearly indicating that she was very familiar with the short trek to the store. By presenting her feelings towards the store she sets a tone of nostalgic happiness for the reader as we gain some insight into her childhood.

The structure of her writing also plays an important role in her story and the effect she wants it to have on the reader. She first describes the journey to the store like, “…a tune would float toward me from the house where there lived three sisters,” and “A little further on… was the house where the principal of our grade school lived…”(S+W 3 156) and so on, to allow the reader background into how the place she grew up in was as much about the scenery as it was the people who lived there. This adds depth to the story for the reader and also set up the reader for the ending of the story.

Another great aspect of this story is the appeal to all of the senses. Specifically, I enjoyed her description of the smells of the store as you enter. “There were almost tangible smells – licorice recently sucked in a child’s cheek, dill-pickle brine that had leaked through a paper sack in a fresh trail across the wooden floor…”(S+W 3 156) are just a few examples of how exquisite Welty’s ability to describe and assumedly recollect the events that took place. By doing this and describing the smells that would entice a child, she reinforces that the story is from a child’s perspective and at the same time gives the reader a vivid mental idea of what the store was like. An additional example of this use of sensory appeal is found in the quote, “Its confusion may have been in the eye of its beholder. Enchantment is cast upon you by all those things you weren’t supposed to have need for… boy’s marbles and agates… small rubber balls that wouldn’t bounce straight…”(S+W 3 157).

However good this story, the ending did not sit well with me. The story ends with her explaining that “tragedy struck their family,” (S+W 3 159) in reference to the Sessions (the family of the convenience store) and her also explaining that her parents held back what the tragedy was from her because she was a child, and then ending without ever explaining to the reader what that tragedy was. Although effective in allowing the reader to have the same feeling she experienced as a child, I disliked this ending, no matter how appropriate.

All Quotes taken from Eudora Welty’s “The Little Store”

The South

My place of birth is Indianapolis, but I have lived in Alpharetta all of my life. Being from the south I'm sure that most people would think i have a southern draw, however it is in fact the opposite. My hatred for the accent extends into all aspects of my life. I will never date or even consider dating a woman with a southern accent, I cannot stand country music, and I sometimes even get annoyed by my family members who have the accent. However, I do not hate where I am from. I love this part of the country despite its freezing winters and blisteringly hot summers because it is part of who I am. For example I love sweet tea and fried chicken. I think calling soda pop just sounds silly. I love the fall when all the trees that stand over us turn to beautiful autumn colors. This is the place I have lived in all my life and I could not even begin to think that it has not left an indelible mark on who I am. I can’t even fathom what it would be like to live in another part of the country. If I were to be moved I would feel totally lost. I could never picture myself as a Northerner, or a Californian. If instead of growing up in Georgia I had grown up in Indiana, I am absolutely certain that I would be a totally different person. I would probably think all people from the south were redneck and carried shotguns in their pick-up trucks. I would probably think that southerners find it acceptable to marry second cousins (although that’s not true). I would have all the common misconceptions that most anyone from another part of the country would have of the south.

Lakeside

Usually when I visit my neighborhood’s lake the water is full of vibrant life and movement, but today it is the opposite. A thick, opaque sheet of ice covers almost the whole of it and the movements I am so used to have ceased. The water that remains at the surface almost grasping for sunlight is motionless and resembles the frosty glass all around it. I see no fish stirring, hear no sound of insects buzzing, but I do feel the icy wind blowing steadily across the lake surface. However, I have just arrived and have yet to realize that “It’s all a matter of keeping my eyes open.” In my mind I know that the fish have not left the lake and that the water is still in motion just as it has always been yet because of the thick sheet of ice I have been blinded. “If I can’t see these minutiae, I still try to keep my eyes open” because I don’t know what clues to look for in this weather to spot the evidence that life remains. I often think that just like this sheet of ice over water that blocks us from seeing in “We miss a great deal because we perceive only things on our own scale.” For example, what do the fish in the water think? On their scale the ice blocks sunlight, their source of warmth, and is most likely vexing, yet to us the ice is fun and beautiful allowing us to forget how treacherous it can be if we were to fall in and join our fishy friends. “Still, a great deal of light falls on everything” and I would have to guess that they find ways to keep warm under the ice since entire fish populations don’t just die out during winter. I actually venture onto the ice, near the shore of course, to see how thick it is and astoundingly, especially for Georgia, the ice is over two inches thick over open water and is frozen to the bottom near the edges. It is astounding to think that water has so many forms. “I reel in confusion; I don’t understand what I see.” How does moving water freeze? When I recall past years I have seen frozen waterfalls but I never understood how water plummeting through the air could freeze in place. It must freeze gradually. With some parts freezing before others and blocking the moving water ever so steadily until at last every droplet of water on the surface freezes. “I had been a bell my whole life and, and never knew it until that moment I was lifted and struck.” Realizations are strange things. How can they exist? For a person to realize something the sums of the whole must have always been there, and therefore, that person actually learned nothing and yet feels as if a great hidden truth has been revealed. “…sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain: ‘This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means that only the simplest animals perceive the universe as it is.’” Annie Dillard, I could not agree more that a way to remove these filters must be discovered. As a realist this is one ultimate goal I always keep in mind, see the world as it truly is, not as you want it to be.

Quotes from: Dillard, Annie. "Seeing." Seeing and Writing. Eds. Donald and Christina McQuade. Bedford, 2007. Print 108-117.